Problems with thiocyanate as an index of smoking status: A critical review with suggestions with improving the usefulness of biochemical measures in smoking cessation research

Presents a review of the literature on thiocyanate (SCN) to illustrate the methodological issues involved in using biochemical indices of behavior. Issues related to the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and reportedly long half-life of SCN are discussed in relation to other biochemical in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health psychology 1984, Vol.3 (6), p.563-581
Main Authors: Bliss, Ryan E, O'Connell, Kathleen A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Drug Usage Screening
Experimentation
Human
Literature Review
Smoking Cessation
Tobacco Smoking
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Presents a review of the literature on thiocyanate (SCN) to illustrate the methodological issues involved in using biochemical indices of behavior. Issues related to the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and reportedly long half-life of SCN are discussed in relation to other biochemical indices of smoking, which include expired air CO, blood carboxyhemoglobin, nicotine, and cotinine. Several suggestions for improving the usefulness of biochemical indicators emerge from the review: (1) Attempts should be made to minimize false reports of smoking behavior; (2) the estimated prevalence of smoking in the sample should be taken into account; and (3) secondary biochemical indices should be used to confirm positive findings.
ISSN:0278-6133
1930-7810
DOI:10.1037/0278-6133.3.6.563